When Congress recessed for the summer, legislators left without passing a critical aid bill to help stop the spread of the Zika virus. At fault were pro-abortion Democrats who blocked the aid bill in both houses because it did not include money for a few Planned Parenthood facilities in Puerto Rico.

In an interview with WND this week, Jill Stanek, national campaign chair for the Susan B. Anthony List, slammed Democrats for siding with the abortion giant rather than those at risk of contracting the virus.

“Democrat Senators are blocking approval of funding of their own bill,” she told WND. “They’ve blocked votes twice because they want Planned Parenthood to get funding in this, which is ridiculous.

“The real culprits here are the abortion lobby, who would rather kill babies than mosquitoes,” she continued. “They are fomenting panic for their own personal benefit and gain, rather than promoting the best course of action, which would be to eliminate the mosquitoes carrying the virus and then, long-term, develop a vaccine.”

Stanek said killing unborn babies is not the solution to the Zika crisis or any other problem.

“We find the abortion lobby promoting abortion for disabilities across the spectrum, but the pro-life community believes that adult victims, child victims and pre-born children who are victims of the Zika virus deserve the same standard of care,” Stanek said. “With what other illness do we end the lives of the afflicted, rather than try to heal them?”

Last week, the Centers for Disease Control reported knowing of at least 479 pregnant women who have been infected with Zika in the U.S. Six of those unborn babies died in miscarriages or abortions, while 15 others were born with birth defects, the CDC reports. Experts predict that southern states in the U.S. will see more cases this summer.

Research into the virus and the link to birth defects is on-going. Scientists also are trying to develop a vaccine, and legislators say the federal aid bill would expedite that research.

Currently, researchers estimate that between 1 percent and 15 percent of pregnant women who contract Zika in the first trimester will have babies with birth defects, according to the Associated Press. The risk appears to be much lower for pregnant women who contract the virus in the second and third trimesters, researchers suggest.